Canada has Harley on standby, but Cooper confident Makar will dress
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Team Canada has been granted permission to bring in Thomas Harley in case Cale Makar cannot play Saturday against Team USA.
Makar missed Friday's practice due to illness, leaving Canada with just five defencemen on the ice. Forward Travis Konecny, who appears set to exit the lineup, skated in Makar's spot beside Devon Toews.
Harley can only be officially added to the 4 Nations Face-Off roster if Makar is unable to play, but head coach Jon Cooper said after Friday's skate he is confident the Colorado Avalanche star will be OK. Makar logged a team-high 28:16 of ice time against Sweden, finishing with an even plus-minus.
"Expect is a big word, but I'm confident. I'm confident he'll be there," Cooper said.
Harley was initially set to join Team Canada in Boston following Saturday's game, but will instead now head to Montreal. Canada put the Dallas Stars defenceman on notice Thursday that he would be the next man up if there's another injury on the team's blueline.
TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun adds that Harley will not permitted to join Team Canada in any activities unless Makar can't play in a game. If he is on the ice for Saturday's morning skate, it will serve as confirmation that Makar is out against the Americans.
Canada was quickly down to six defencemen on their roster after losing Vegas Golden Knights blueliner Shea Theodore to an upper-body injury in their opening game Wednesday night.
The 23-year-old Harley has nine goals and 29 points in 53 games this season with the Stars. Selected 18th overall in the 2019 draft, Harley is in his second full season with the Stars. He inked a two-year, $8 million contract after a breakout season with 15 goals and 47 points in 79 games last year. Like Theodore, Harley is a right-handed shot.
After serving as a healthy scratch against Sweden, Travis Sanheim will move into the lineup for Team Canada's clash with the United States. He skated with Drew Doughty in Friday's session.
“I guess that’s the other side of it,” Sanheim said Thursday. “It’s been something that I’ve dreamt of doing. Very excited, I just said that I’d be ready if they needed me. You’d hate to see it happen this way, but I’m looking forward to it."
“Big body, can skate, can play at this tempo,” Cooper said of the blueliner, declining to reveal who he will pair with. “He's one of the guys soaking it all in and taking in the environment and how these experiences do nothing but help his game. Excited for him to play, to experience this, but more than that I know he can play. He'll be just fine."
Sanheim, 28, has six goals and 27 points in 57 games with the Flyers this season. He is signed through the 2030-31 at a cap hit of $6.25 million.
Theodore was labelled week-to-week by the Golden Knights on Thursday after Cooper declined to reveal the full extent of Theodore's injury following the 4-3 overtime win over Sweden.
“That's a big blow,” Cooper said after ruling out Theodore for the remainder of the tournament. “What a kid, and he only got to play six minutes. It's heartbreaking for the kid. And he was the first one there at the door high-fiving everybody when we came off. It's a tough one to swallow because you just know how much it means. I guess in hindsight he got to touch the ice and get some time in there.
"But for us it was tough because you talk about the speed in that game and we had to fight through the last 50 minutes with five defencemen. That's a grind.”
Theodore has seven goals and 48 points in 55 games this season while sitting second on the Golden Knights ice time at 22:02 per game. The 29-year-old carries a cap hit of $5.2 million this season with his seven-year contract set to kick in next season at a cap hit of $7.43 million.